Invasion of France
Background After the fall of Germany, the Soviets were poised to drive the Allies from Europe. The allies had fled back to France in disarray after the loss of Germany. The Maginot line was the only thing that stood in the way of the Soviets. Force Composition The Soviets put together a massive force of over two million men with huge numbers of tanks and artillery to support them. Most of this force was aimed straight at Paris, and the Soviet plan was to drive straight through Paris and smash the Allied army into the sea. The Allies had a smaller force, consisting of the French army and the remnants of the Allied Expeditionary Force. They were somewhat disorganized, but not as much as the Soviets thought, and were ready to defend France from any invasion attempt. The Maginot line fortresses supported by a number of French army troops and Allied Heavy Defenders would serve as the first line of defence. The main bulk of the army was behind that to stop any breakthroughs. Opening Moves The Soviets dispatched the 157th Shock Division, consisting of 31,000 men with armour and Tesla Trooper support to test the Maginot line's defences. They were driven off with many losses by the Allied defenders. However, this proved to the Soviets that frontal attacks weren't going to work, and so they came up with a new plan, and unveiled the V4. The Destruction of the Maginot Line The Soviets then moved up their crack 9th Artillery Division, which was equipped with their new V4, as well as the older V3s. They opened fire on the Maginot fortresses from beyond retaliatory range, which were unable to fire back. The fortresses were extremely well armoured, but they were all eventually destroyed. Allied air attacks on the artillery were beaten off by MiGs and Bullfrogs. Soviet Advance The Soviets threw their entire force across the border, which no longer had any defences to stop them. The main Allied force was badly out of position to stop them, as they were expecting the Maginot line to hold them long enough for the army to advance. The Soviet advanced almost two hundred miles on the first day, and the Allies could only put up token resistance. Battle of Reims Finally, however, the Allies managed to mobilise their main army. The two forces met at the city of Reims, on the road to Paris. The Allies initially had the advantage, but then the Apocalypse tanks arrived and annihilated an entire Allied armoured brigade within minutes. The Allied force was shattered, and retreated toward the coast, pursued by the Soviet army and pounded by Kirovs and V4s. Dunkirk The main Allied force fell back to the beaches of Dunkirk. The Soviets surrounded the beach and pounded it with artillery and bombers. However, they were ordered to hold back by the Soviet High Command, who were afraid that they would suffer too many losses trying to crush the pocket. The Allies put together a flotilla of ships, from military transports to cargo ships to pleasure yachts, to evacuate the Expeditionary Force to Britain. They were successful, and got almost everyone out, although many ships were lost to Soviet bombers. The rescue effort sparked a wave of national pride and determination about the war. Le Havre Pocket However, about 30,000 Allied troops were cut off from the main force and driven back into the pot of Le Havre. They couldn't be evacuated because the Soviet Navy was concentrated around the pot, and was managing to hold off the Allied North Atlantic Fleet. The Soviets surrounded the city, and bombarded it with many V4s and Myeche MMLs. However the Allied force answered back shot for shot, and heavily damaged or destroyed many of the Soviets V4s. The Soviets tried two assaults, but both were driven off with heavy casualties. Finally, the Soviets called in an elite brigade of Naval Infantry that were waiting with the main fleet. They launched a surprise attack from the sea, but were again driven back with massive losses. The Allied force had been badly hurt by the assault, however, and was finally rushed by a massive Soviet assault supported by Apocalypse tanks. Result While the Soviets had taken France and kicked the Allies out of Europe, in the process they had lost an estimated 125,000 men, including 1,000 of their crack Naval Infantry, and a dozen Apocalypse tanks. They also lost hundreds of tanks and walkers. The Allies lost most of their heavy equipment, but they got almost 350,000 of their troops back to Britain. Category:Battles